Revolution, NYCFC out to improve situations on the field

Off the field, the New England Revolution are seeking a new stadium similar to the one recently approved for New York City FC.

Future stadium locations are hardly a concern for New England's players, whose performances in the first month place them at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings entering Saturday when the Revolution head to Yankee Stadium to face NYCFC.

New England (1-4-1, 4 points) is off to a slow start after finishing fifth in the East last season. The Revolution have scored five goals, tying them with NYCFC and Orlando for the fewest in the league.

New England's struggles are occurring as it seeks a new stadium in Everett, Mass., to avoid sharing space in Foxborough with the NFL's New England Patriots. The Revolution are coming off their first MLS win as Carles Gil scored in last week's 1-0 win over Charlotte FC, and they are unbeaten in the past two MLS matches since getting outscored 10-3 in a four-game skid to start the season.

The Revolution are also facing a short turnaround from their trip to Mexico City, where they took a 5-2 loss to Club America on Tuesday in the second round of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals. Giacomo Vrioni scored both goals for New England.

"Similar to us, (NYCFC) haven't started out too well, so they'll be desperate for three points," Revolution defender Henry Kessler said. "So that's something that stands out to me. They're in a similar position as us so it should be a battle."

NYCFC (1-4-2, 5 points) are coming off a pair of 1-1 draws at Inter Miami and at home last week against Atlanta United. NYCFC have split their matches between the Bronx and Queens but are projected to move to a site adjacent to Citi Field in Queens in 2027 after their proposal was approved by city officials on Thursday.

In the meantime, the club is trying to spark an offense that has scored more than one goal in only one match so far and has been blanked three times.

Last week against Atlanta, Santiago Rodriguez scored on a penalty kick in the first half before NYCFC conceded the tying goal in the 65th.

"We are definitely progressing and we are definitely improving," NYCFC coach Nick Cushing said. "You've got to continue to believe, to work, to concentrate, and focus on executing the outcomes."

--Field Level Media